Oracle, Google fail to reach settlement in Android case

Two days of face-to-face mediation talks between Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Google CEO Larry Page over the companies' Android mobile OS lawsuit have yet to result in a settlement, but the door is open for negotiations to continue, according to a document filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Two days of face-to-face mediation talks between Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Google CEO Larry Page over the companies' Android mobile OS lawsuit have yet to result in a settlement, but the door is open for negotiations to continue, according to a document filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

"Lead counsel shall contact the courtroom deputy to the undersigned to schedule a call tomorrow regarding when further discussions will take place and whether the further attendance of Mr. Ellison and Mr. Page will be required," the brief filing states.

Oracle sued Google last year, claiming that Android violated a number of patents and copyrights it holds on the Java programming language, which it gained through the purchase of Sun Microsystems. Google has denied wrongdoing.

The often rancorous tone of pretrial dealings between the companies suggests that it could be difficult for them to reach a settlement agreement.

Software patent expert Florian Mueller, who has been following the case closely, speculated in a blog post Thursday whether Page and Ellison would make another appearance at the mediation table.

"Theoretically, the reference to the further participation of the two Larrys could mean two things," he wrote. "It could indicate that a philosophical agreement has been reached and the parties only need to hammer out some more detail, in which case the two Larrys might not be needed anymore. But more likely, the court has realized that there isn't much hope for an agreement and recognizes that it wouldn't be reasonable to ask for too much time on the two CEOs' part."

Other top Oracle executives at Wednesday's mediation session included co-president Safra Catz and Thomas Kurian, executive vice president of product development, according to the court filing. Representing Google along with Page was Android head Andy Rubin, among others.